Efforts have been made to reduce the weight of multiple cylinder internal combustion engines, particularly in passenger vehicles. Therefore, one preceeded to make the cylinder blocks from light metal; but, as a result, two different materials had to be used, namely light metal for the cylinder block and appropriate grey cast iron grades for the liners forming the cylinders. For this reason, attempts were made by means of structural measures to design a cylinder block which could also be made from grey cast iron while having a suitably high fatigue strength. A cylinder block of this type is described in WO 94/07017. When suitable grey cast iron grades are used, for example, compact graphite cast iron, it is possible to also produce a thin-walled cylinder block. A defined, straight-line force flow between a cylinder head and crankshaft bearing results from the arrangement of U-shaped reinforcing ribs on the outside of the water jacket in the region of the parting plane between respectively two adjoining cylinders and from an in-line association of the cylinder head screws with respect to the fastening screws of the bearing cap of the crankshaft bearing, which cap is attached from below. This allows a stability calculation with sufficient precision so that, in the dimensioning of the remaining, largely planar elements of the cylinder block which serve as a jacket, the wall thickness must practically be considered only with a view to a flawless casting ability. The previously known cylinder block, however, is designed such that the parts of the bearing shells forming the bearing duct are respectively cast integral in the parting plane between two cylinders via corresponding webs.